Analysis Of First Ag

[Rob S]

So I poured my first glass of my first AG brew just then and want to get some feedback from more experienced brewers.

It's dry and quite hoppy from the Saaz which I'm happy about. Needs more time in the bottle to mellow though I presume.

There is little to no carbonation - it's as flat as a tack. I didn't have any vessels to bulk prime with so I did 2 x sugar drops per longneck.

There is a odd head on it. Very sudsy. Sort of soapy suds.

There's quite a bit of haze too which doesn't bother me.

So not too unhappy, I didn't expect perfect beer, but I would have liked some bubbles in it.

So what do you think could be the reason for the lack of bubbles and soapy top?

I racked to secondary, CC'd for 2 weeks at 1*C, bottled with 2 drops per tallie, capped them off with fresh caps and kept at room temp for 2 weeks.... Yeast used was Wyeast Bavarian Lager. Can't think of anything else that may help my question.

Could it have been from spraying Star San into the bottles and not rinsing them out enough or bottling them too quickly after Star San'ing?

Cheers
Rob

 

[manticle]

I'd say they just need more time. The fact that you have some bubbles suggests it is carbing but slowly.

Does it taste sweeter than you'd expect?

Very unlikely anything to do with starsan and you shouldn't be rinsing out a no-rinse sanitiser anyway.

 

[Rob S]

Didn't think it was the Star San. I had a look at the rest of what was in the tallie. Definate settling of yeast in the bottom of the tallie. Not sweet at all - dry and hoppy. I was overestimating the bubble situation. Not one, bugger it. You're right though. I'll sit them back in the box in the cupboard for another fortnight.

Forgot to add, it was thick. Not syrupy but definately thick. It came out with a higher OG than planned but it fermented out ok. Dunno, maybe it was too cold when I poured it into the glass? I did let it sit for a good 20 mins in the glass with nothing but the sudsy head. Oh well, hopefully the Kolsch will turn out better

 

[iralosavic]

You need to store the bottles at a temp suited to the yeast used in order for it to ferment the sugar. Do you have an idea of the temp it is stored at? I find lager yeasts don't like temperature swings ie weather and day/night changes, so I sacrifice my temp controller for 2-4 weeks and keep the bottles at 12ish, checking weekly after 2 weeks. I bottle a few stubbies to minimize waste whenchecking. I'm adding a second contoller for this reason (and so I can run 2 fermenters at once when needed- lagers are good at tying things up!

If I've just told you what you already know, I apologise.

 

[Rob S]

It's a pilsner and the current temp is around 30 during the day and 18 at night. They're stored in a box next to the fridge so I'd say the temps are closer to 22 - 26. I'll shove them in the fermenting fridge for a while where the temp is going to be 15 for the next 2 weeks.

Maybe opening it was a bit premature, but I was sure that 2 weeks after bottling would be ok for a tester.

 

[iralosavic]

All my ales (not including stouts or high gravity beer) are fully carbed in 2 weeks- sometimes I check and they're done after a week. Lagers stored at a constant 15c should only take 2 weeks too, but sometimes they're just slower. At 20 something going up and down, it may take a lot longer.

Edit: stupid iPhone